Spike Jones — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm big band Spike Jones was a popular musician and comedian during the 1940s and 1950s. He and his backing band "The City Slickers" employed a wide variety of zany vocals, household implements and shotguns to produce their wacky, yet musically intriguing tracks. Reputed to have the most talented and highly-paid musicians of the day, Spike Jones and his musicians were considerably more than simply novelty performers. Much of their performances even included theatrics and musical athletics. Spike Jones was subtley avant-garde in… read more Spike Jones - IMDb IMDb Actor | Soundtrack | Composer Spike Jones was born on December 14, 1911 in Long Beach, California, USA as Lindley Armstrong Jones. He was an actor, known for The Spike Jones Show (1957), The Spike Jones Show (1954) and Mr. Nobody (2009). He was married to Helen Grayco and Patricia Middleton. He died on May 1, 1965 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.

See full bio » Born: a list of 251 people created 01 Aug 2012 a list of 11 people created 26 Sep 2013 a list of 65 people created 14 Dec 2015 a list of 5865 people created 11 months ago a list of 149 people created 9 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Spike Jones's work have you seen? User Polls The Spike Jones Show Prince Charming / Himself / Pinocchio / Witch (1954) 1964 Burke's Law (TV Series) Duke of Epsom - Liam Neeson/Terry Gilliam/Tim McGraw (2014) ... (performer: "Cocktails for Two") 2009 Mr.

Nobody (performer: "Clink Clink Another Drink") 1999 La bûche (performer: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town / Jingle Bells Medley") 1997 The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (Video) (performer: "Cocktails For Two") 1994 I.Q. (performer: "COCKTAILS FOR TWO") 1991 Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection (Video) (performer: "Cocktails for Two") 1987 DTV Monster Hits (TV Movie) (performer: "That Old Black Magic") 1984 DTV: Golden Oldies (Video) (performer: "The Blue Danube", "Holiday For Strings") 1978 Auch Spaß muss sein (TV Series) (performer: "Holiday for Strings") 1976 Carpenters Very First Television Special (TV Special) (lyrics: "(They Long To Be) Close To You") 1958 The Frank Sinatra Show (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Spike Jones and Helen Grayco (1958) ...

(performer: "Chloe", "Fascination", "All the Way", "Tammy", "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" - uncredited) - Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1956) ... (performer: "Lay Down Your Arms" - uncredited) 1954 Fireman Save My Child (arranger: "Dance of the Hours", "A Hot Time in the Old Town" - uncredited) 1947 Variety Girl (performer: "YOUR HEART CALLING MINE") 1947 Ladies' Man (arranger: "Hotcha Cornia" - uncredited) Spike Jones | New Music And Songs | Spike Jones About Spike Jones My father saw them at the Michigan Theater in Detroit back in 1943. "They were crazy, he started off the show with his regular big band, you know, just playing straight stuff. Then, after intermission, the stage went black and all these sirens and gun shots started going off. Then the stage lit up and it was Spike Jones & His City Slickers, the same band only dressed up crazy.

They had a guy playing a toilet seat with strings on it, people on-stage wearing wigs and crazy outfits, oh geez, they were nuts. Nobody was doing anything like that back in those days." I remember seeing them on television back in the early '50s, on my grandmother's 8" round screen Zenith. The noise and visual mayhem spilling out of that dinky speaker and tiny screen seemed barely containable as I sat on the floor, absolutely mesmerized. Guns being fired, bicycle horns honking like crazy, midgets and people with no heads running all over the place, while the bandleader nonchalantly chewed gum seemingly quite content with all this dementia going on around him. They were the loudest band I had ever heard up to that time, and they were playing in such a fast and reckless manner, I could barely keep up with what they were doing. I had always been fascinated by music and show business, but this was a different ballgame altogether. This was my introduction to a world of insanity and noise in the name of entertainment and when rock & roll came along a few years later, it made perfect sense to me.

But even Presley's gyrations and Little Richard's screams seemed like pretty tame stuff compared to these kind of monkey shines. Lindley Armstrong Jones was a musical genius. In the wild and woolly days before MTV, digital tape, and multi-track recording, Spike Jones put together a top-flight musical organization that the world has not seen the likes of since. Known as the City Slickers, the emphasis was on comedy, primarily doing dead-on satires of popular songs on the hit parade and taking the air out of pompous classical selections as well. Not merely content to do cornball renderings of standard material or trite novelty tunes for comedic effect, Jones' musical vision encompassed utilizing whistles, bells, gargling, broken glass, and gun shots perfectly timed and wedded to the most musical and unmusical of source points. His stage show was no less mind boggling, needing a full railroad car just to carry the props alone, all presented without electronic gimmickry of any kind, with visuals that would make your eyes pop out of your head.

Though he often downplayed his musical achievements (all part of the master plan of selling the idea to the general public), the fact remains that Spike was a strict bandleader and taskmaster, making sure his musicians were precision tight, and adept in a variety of musical styles from Dixieland to classical, with a caliber of musicianship several notches higher than most big bands of the day who played so-called "straight" music. In other words, Jones was no dummy, he knew what he was doing when he put the whole concept together, checkerboard suits and all. It gave him Top Ten hits on phonograph records (it became a badge of honor with pop musicians that you really hadn't tasted true success until Spike Jones & the City Slickers destroyed your song) and proved immensely popular as a stage show, in movies, and on television. A definite precursor to the video age, Jones didn't merely play the songs funny, he illustrated them as well, a total audio and visual assault for the senses. Jones (the son of a railroad man, hence the nickname) had started as a jazz drummer and radio session player working with top-drawer stars like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, among others.

One of the more interesting bits of Jones trivia is that if you listen hard enough, that's him gently working his wire brushes in the background on Bing's "White Christmas." But as in demand as he might have been, musician union restrictions only allowed so many radio dates to be worked by one drummer. To this end (and to distinguish himself from the pack), Jones added a full set of tuned cowbells, guns, whistles, and sirens to his already existing drum set, thus insuring steady work as a both a drummer and small-scale sound effects man. Although these additions made him unique in a field loaded with anonymous sidemen, Jones had bigger and crazier ideas. After putting together various after-hours small groups that played "corny just for fun" (including early recordings with the Penny-Funnies and Cinema-Fritzers bands for the short-lived Cinematone company), he formed the City Slickers in the early '40s. By 1942, his sixth record under the new band's name, "Der Fuehrer's Face" became not only a national hit but a national mania, and Jones' self-named "musical depreciation revue" was off and running.

The bands assembled over the years under the City Slickers banner would feature everyone from singers, midgets, acrobats, and vaudeville comics to musicians who could just plain blow their brains out, all hand picked by Jones. From George Rock's braying, high-register trumpet and kiddie voices to Freddie Morgan's incredible, rubber-faced pantomime banjo shenanigans, from Sir Frederick Gas' insane "twig" bowing to Billy Barty's Liberace impressions, here was a band that truly defied description. Musicians who could play multiple instruments in a wide variety of styles were commonplace, making the City Slickers the crackerjack unit they were. But certain members of the troupe (like Gas or Barty) were hired because they did one thing extremely well, and would proceed to do it on a nightly basis, key players all. For years, the rumor persisted that Jones had a guy on the payroll who did nothing but gargle.

Though bands that played "corny" had been successful before he leapt to national fame (most notably Freddie Fisher & the Schnickelfritzers and the Hoosier Hot Shots), Jones' musical vision also encompassed a total assault against the conventions of general show business pomposity. Whatever the newest fad (current singing stars, radio, television, and movie personalities), if Jones could figure a way to ridicule it for the "this-month's-flavor" shallowness of it all, the City Slickers torch was duly applied. And once you heard Jones' version of the tune, you could never go back and take any of those idols of the moment quite as seriously as you might have before. This world view of show biz elephant trash lives on today in the music video parodies on TV's In Living Color, and assorted like-minded skits on Saturday Night Live. Had Jones survived into the MTV age, true believers are sure he would have had a field day with Milli Vanilli and the gang on Entertainment Tonight.

Although parodies of pop music continue to proliferate (Weird Al Yankovic is probably the closest modern-day equivalent, although he's closer in style to an Allan Sherman; he sings funny lyrics to normal songs, he doesn't play them funny), the simple fact remains that Spike Jones & His City Slickers did it better than anyone before or since. ~ Cub Koda, Rovi Hear more of Spike Jones | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Cub Koda Lindley Armstrong Jones was a musical genius. In the wild and woolly days before multi-track recording, MTV, and certainly digital entertainment content, Spike Jones put together a top-flight musical organization that the world has not seen the likes of since. Known as the City Slickers , the emphasis was on comedy, primarily doing dead-on satires of popular songs on the hit parade and taking the air out of pompous classical selections as well. Not merely content to do cornball renderings of standard material or trite novelty tunes for comedic effect, Jones ' musical vision encompassed whistles, bells, gargling, broken glass, and gunshots perfectly timed and wedded to the most musical and unmusical of source points.

His stage show was no less mind-boggling, needing a full railroad car just to carry the props alone, all presented without electronic gimmickry of any kind, with visuals that would make your eyes pop out of your head. Though he often downplayed his musical achievements (all part of the master plan of selling the idea to the general public), the fact remains that Spike was a strict bandleader and taskmaster, making sure his musicians were precision tight and adept in a variety of musical styles from Dixieland to classical, with a caliber of musicianship several notches higher than most big bands of the day that played so-called "straight" music. In other words, Jones was no dummy. He knew what he was doing when he put the whole concept together -- checkerboard suits and all. It gave him Top Ten hits on phonograph records and proved immensely popular as a stage show, in movies, and on television. (It became a badge of honor with pop musicians that you really hadn't tasted true success until Spike Jones & the City Slickers had destroyed your song.) A definite precursor to the video age, Jones didn't merely play the songs funny, he illustrated them as well, a total audio and visual assault for the senses.

Jones (the son of a railroad man, hence the nickname) had started as a jazz drummer and radio session player working with top-drawer stars like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby , among others. (One of the more interesting bits of Jones trivia is that if you listen hard enough, that's him gently working his wire brushes in the background on Bing 's "White Christmas.") But as in-demand as he might have been, musician union restrictions only allowed so many radio dates to be worked by one drummer. To this end (and to distinguish himself from the pack), Jones added a full set of tuned cowbells, guns, whistles, and sirens to his already existing drum set, thus insuring steady work as a both a drummer and small-scale sound effects man. Although these additions made him unique in a field loaded with anonymous sidemen, Jones had bigger and crazier ideas. After putting together various after-hours small groups that played "corny just for fun" (including early recordings with the Penny-Funnies and Cinema-Fritzers bands for the short-lived Cinematone company), he formed the City Slickers in the early '40s.

By 1942, his sixth record under the new band's name, "Der Fuehrer's Face," became not only a national hit but a national mania, and Jones ' self-named "musical depreciation revue" was off and running. The bands assembled over the years under the City Slickers banner would feature everyone from singers, midgets, acrobats, and vaudeville comics to musicians who could just plain blow their brains out, all hand-picked by Jones . From George Rock 's braying, high-register trumpet and kiddie voices to Freddie Morgan 's incredible rubber-faced pantomime banjo shenanigans, from Sir Frederick Gas ' insane "twig" bowing to Billy Barty 's Liberace impressions, here was a band that truly defied description. Musicians who could play multiple instruments in a wide variety of styles were commonplace, making the City Slickers the crackerjack unit they were. But certain members of the troupe (like Gas or Barty ) were hired because they did one thing extremely well, and would proceed to do it on a nightly basis, key players all.

(For years, the rumor persisted that Jones had a guy on the payroll who did nothing but gargle.) Though bands that played "corny" had been successful before he leapt to national fame (most notably Freddie Fisher & the Schnickelfritzers and the Hoosier Hot Shots ), Jones ' musical vision also encompassed a total assault against the conventions of general show-business pomposity. Whatever the newest fad (current singing stars, radio, television, and movie personalities), if Jones could figure a way to ridicule it for the "this month's flavor" shallowness of it all, the City Slickers torch was duly applied. And once you heard Jones ' version of the tune, you could never go back and take any of those idols of the moment quite as seriously as you might have before. Although parodies of pop music continued to proliferate ( Weird Al Yankovic is probably the closest modern-day equivalent, although he's closer in style to an Allan Sherman ; he sings funny lyrics to normal songs, he doesn't play them funny), the simple fact remains that Spike Jones & His City Slickers did it better than anyone before or since.

The Best of Spike Jones by Spike Jones on Apple Music 12 Songs Album Review This compilation collects most of Spike Jones' greatest hits during his RCA years. The chaos begins with Carl Grayson singing "Cocktails for Two" very straight, segueing into the cacophony of auto horns and various custom designed percussion instruments that were an important part of the band. Other gems include "Der Fuehrer's Face," Doodles Weaver's famous horse race in the middle of the "William Tell Overture," and guest vocalist Paul Frees (the man of a thousand voices, including the original Pillsbury Doughboy) in a sizzling take of "My Old Flame." This music is still a riot after over a half century! Customer Reviews by cardsfan111 I have a teacher who plays this on his record player for us, haha, I laugh every time I hear it...especially during the William Tell Overture. Timeless comic genius by AEM11111 This collection is brilliant. It's the one my dad bought for me when I was a kid; now thanks to iTunes I can introduce it to my kids. The Glow Worm is the only context in which it's OK to call someone a fathead! Love It!

by Virginia Hutchings My best friend introduce me to Spike Jones in high school and I absolutely loved his comedic music! Still do! Biography Born: December 14, 1911 in Long Beach, CA Genre: Comedy Years Active: '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s Lindley Armstrong Jones was a musical genius. In the wild and woolly days before multi-track recording, MTV, and certainly digital entertainment content, Spike Jones put together a top-flight musical organization that the world has not seen the likes of since. Known as the City Slickers, the emphasis was on comedy, primarily doing dead-on satires of popular songs on the hit parade and taking the air out of pompous classical selections as well. Not merely content to do cornball renderings of standard... Top Albums and Songs by Spike Jones 1. Spike Jones & His City Slickers | Biography & History | AllMusic Spike Jones & His City Slickers Biography by Jordan R. Young Spike Jones kept up a frenetic pace in the late 1930s as a freelance studio musician for motion pictures, records, and radio shows.

The busy young drummer commuted to Hollywood studios in a station wagon… google+ Artist Biography by Jordan R. Young Spike Jones kept up a frenetic pace in the late 1930s as a freelance studio musician for motion pictures, records, and radio shows. The busy young drummer commuted to Hollywood studios in a station wagon that was a veritable junkyard on wheels. But he had little opportunity to employ cowbells, sirens, and automobile horns in his work at the time. He felt so frustrated he decided to form his own band "where I could make as much noise as I wanted," he once claimed. Delmar Porter , who sang with the Foursome -- a vocal and ocarina quartet Jones had backed on Decca Records -- was Jones ' partner in musical mayhem from the outset. Porter led a six-piece group called the Feather Merchants, which was managed by Jones before it gradually evolved into the City Slickers. Few musicians took Jones and Porter seriously when they started the band. It was no more than a spare time proposition, and many of them -- who had steady work in radio -- departed after a rehearsal or two.

The precise evolution of the band, which consisted of various studio musicians of Spike 's and Del' s acquaintance, is unclear. Adding to the puzzle is the existence of a concurrent Jones band which made experimental "penny records" for the short-lived Cinematone Corporation. The second group included not only Porter but future Slickers Perry Botkin (banjo), Kingsley Jackson (trombone), and Stanley Wrightsman (piano). Jones was not officially the leader of the City Slickers -- nor had the group yet adopted the name -- when they entered Victor studios for the first time in 1941. "It was a lot of fun but it never occurred to me it was going to be anything big," said trumpeter Bruce Hudson , who was hired for the afternoon. "We were freelance musicians who were having a ball doing crazy music." Del Porter sang the numbers and did the basic arrangements with trombonist King Jackson , who pumped a lot of imagination into the group. When "Behind Those Swinging Doors"/"Red Wing" was issued that October, the label identified the group -- for the first time publicly -- as Spike Jones and his City Slickers.

Within a year of their first Victor session, most of the sidemen involved -- including Botkin , Jackson, Wrightsman , and bassist Hank Stern -- departed for greener pastures. Porter and violinist Carl "Donald" Grayson were the exceptions. Don Anderson , a colleague of Spike 's from Fibber McGee & Molly , joined the day after the initial session, becoming the band's first steady trumpet player. Botkin , who was too busy with radio work, brought Luther Roundtree in to replace him on banjo. Wrightsman , an ace jazz pianist who didn't care for the Slickers' slam-bang style, gave his seat behind the keyboard to Frank Leithner , who played The Eddie Cantor Show with Spike . Jackson left to enlist in the army and was replaced by trombonist John Stanley . Hank Stern 's successor on tuba and string bass was a man of almost limitless talent. Joe "Country" Washburne , a first-rate jazz musician who had performed with Ted Weems , eventually took over most of the arranging duties from Porter.

In doing so, he became a major influence on the Slickers in their evolution from a pleasantly silly cornball style to the riotous, all-stops-out zaniness that put them over the top. Ernest "Red" Ingle , a colleague of Washburne 's from the Weems band, was more than capable on the saxophone; he was hired less for his musical skills than his comic genius. Along with Carl Grayson , Jones came to rely heavily on Ingle for the gags and vocal effects used to annihilate the songs. Many of the early Slickers left the band because they could not accommodate Jones ' demand for "first call" on their availability. Most of them had other jobs and considered the band a secondary job. Frank Leithner , who worked seemingly every radio show in town, was one of the few Slickers who named his own terms, and got them. Other associates like Del Porter departed because they felt their contributions were taken for granted. Country Washburne , whose arranging talents forever "Spiked" "Cocktails for Two," received no acknowledgment for this contribution to the band's success, yet continued to arrange for Jones , despite the anonymity of the task.

But musicians everywhere wanted to work with Spike . Shortly before Porter left, Jones added two key players. Dick "Red" Morgan , who had recorded with Alvino Rey , joined on banjo and guitar; trumpeter George Rock was snatched from the employ of rival music butcher Freddie Fisher, and soon became the dominant sound in Jones' ensemble. The face of the band changed substantially in 1946, a year of dramatic personal and professional change for Jones . More in demand than ever, he stopped drinking and reorganized the group for a new two-hour variety show. he also began touring the country on a punishing schedule. Hard-drinking Carl Grayson , who had contributed much to the success of the band -- including the vocals on "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Cocktails for Two" -- was among the first to be dismissed. Red Ingle quit the group to pursue other ventures, including his own band, and several others were fired. Among their replacements were up-and-coming nightclub comedians Doodles Weaver and Earl Bennett (whom he rechristened Sir Frederick Gas ), clarinetist Mickey Katz , drummer Joe Siracusa , and veteran comic-banjo player Freddy Morgan .

Bird and animal imitator Purv Pullen (renamed Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath ) brought an aural menagerie along with him; dwarf Frankie Little and giant Junior Martin provided additional comic relief. The band reached its zenith in the late '40s -- the very top of its game -- with The Musical Depreciation Revue, a Coca Cola-sponsored CBS radio series, and some of their most musically sophisticated records, including "Rhapsody from Hunger" and "Morpheus." But within a few short years the rigors of the road -- and an invention called television -- began to take their toll on the zany band and its once hugely popular enterprise. Jones made a valiant effort to tackle the new medium with appearances on The Colgate Comedy Hour and a number of short-lived series, but his declining health and a change in musical tastes were the end of the line for the City Slickers.

Jones' so-called New Band, which combined folk music with traditional Dixieland jazz in the early '60s -- and disappointed his old fans -- was "just a temporary musical disarmament until rock & roll blows over." But he was forced to admit: "It's been eight years blowing over, and it's blowing better now than ever." Spike Jones Bio | Spike Jones Career | MTV Comedy/Spoken Word My father saw them at the Michigan Theater in Detroit back in 1943. "They were crazy, he started off the show with his regular big band, you know, just playing straight stuff. Then, after intermission, the stage went black and all these sirens and gun shots started going off. Then the stage lit up and it was Spike Jones & His City Slickers, the same band only dressed up crazy. They had a guy playing a toilet seat with strings on it, people on-stage wearing wigs and crazy outfits, oh geez, they were nuts. Nobody was doing anything like that back in those days." I remember seeing them on television back in the early '50s, on my grandmother's 8" round screen Zenith.

The noise and visual mayhem spilling out of that dinky speaker and tiny screen seemed barely containable as I sat on the floor, absolutely mesmerized. Guns being fired, bicycle horns honking like crazy, midgets and people with no heads running all over the place, while the bandleader nonchalantly chewed gum seemingly quite content with all this dementia going on around him. They were the loudest band I had ever heard up to that time, and they were playing in such a fast and reckless manner, I could barely keep up with what they were doing. I had always been fascinated by music and show business, but this was a different ballgame altogether. This was my introduction to a world of insanity and noise in the name of entertainment and when rock & roll came along a few years later, it made perfect sense to me. But even Presley's gyrations and Little Richard's screams seemed like pretty tame stuff compared to these kind of monkey shines. Lindley Armstrong Jones was a musical genius. In the wild and woolly days before MTV, digital tape, and multi-track recording, Spike Jones put together a top-flight musical organization that the world has not seen the likes of since.

Known as the City Slickers, the emphasis was on comedy, primarily doing dead-on satires of popular songs on the hit parade and taking the air out of pompous classical selections as well. Not merely content to do cornball renderings of standard material or trite novelty tunes for comedic effect, Jones' musical vision encompassed utilizing whistles, bells, gargling, broken glass, and gun shots perfectly timed and wedded to the most musical and unmusical of source points. His stage show was no less mind boggling, needing a full railroad car just to carry the props alone, all presented without electronic gimmickry of any kind, with visuals that would make your eyes pop out of your head. Though he often downplayed his musical achievements (all part of the master plan of selling the idea to the general public), the fact remains that Spike was a strict bandleader and taskmaster, making sure his musicians were precision tight, and adept in a variety of musical styles from Dixieland to classical, with a caliber of musicianship several notches higher than most big bands of the day who played so-called "straight" music.

In other words, Jones was no dummy, he knew what he was doing when he put the whole concept together, checkerboard suits and all. It gave him Top Ten hits on phonograph records (it became a badge of honor with pop musicians that you really hadn't tasted true success until Spike Jones & the City Slickers destroyed your song) and proved immensely popular as a stage show, in movies, and on television. A definite precursor to the video age, Jones didn't merely play the songs funny, he illustrated them as well, a total audio and visual assault for the senses. Jones (the son of a railroad man, hence the nickname) had started as a jazz drummer and radio session player working with top-drawer stars like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, among others. One of the more interesting bits of Jones trivia is that if you listen hard enough, that's him gently working his wire brushes in the background on Bing's "White Christmas." But as in demand as he might have been, musician union restrictions only allowed so many radio dates to be worked by one drummer.

To this end (and to distinguish himself from the pack), Jones added a full set of tuned cowbells, guns, whistles, and sirens to his already existing drum set, thus insuring steady work as a both a drummer and small-scale sound effects man. Although these additions made him unique in a field loaded with anonymous sidemen, Jones had bigger and crazier ideas. After putting together various after-hours small groups that played "corny just for fun" (including early recordings with the Penny-Funnies and Cinema-Fritzers bands for the short-lived Cinematone company), he formed the City Slickers in the early '40s. By 1942, his sixth record under the new band's name, "Der Fuehrer's Face" became not only a national hit but a national mania, and Jones' self-named "musical depreciation revue" was off and running. The bands assembled over the years under the City Slickers banner would feature everyone from singers, midgets, acrobats, and vaudeville comics to musicians who could just plain blow their brains out, all hand picked by Jones.

From George Rock's braying, high-register trumpet and kiddie voices to Freddie Morgan's incredible, rubber-faced pantomime banjo shenanigans, from Sir Frederick Gas' insane "twig" bowing to Billy Barty's Liberace impressions, here was a band that truly defied description. Musicians who could play multiple instruments in a wide variety of styles were commonplace, making the City Slickers the crackerjack unit they were. But certain members of the troupe (like Gas or Barty) were hired because they did one thing extremely well, and would proceed to do it on a nightly basis, key players all. For years, the rumor persisted that Jones had a guy on the payroll who did nothing but gargle. Though bands that played "corny" had been successful before he leapt to national fame (most notably Freddie Fisher & the Schnickelfritzers and the Hoosier Hot Shots), Jones' musical vision also encompassed a total assault against the conventions of general show business pomposity.

Whatever the newest fad (current singing stars, radio, television, and movie personalities), if Jones could figure a way to ridicule it for the "this-month's-flavor" shallowness of it all, the City Slickers torch was duly applied. And once you heard Jones' version of the tune, you could never go back and take any of those idols of the moment quite as seriously as you might have before. This world view of show biz elephant trash lives on today in the music video parodies on TV's In Living Color, and assorted like-minded skits on Saturday Night Live. Had Jones survived into the MTV age, true believers are sure he would have had a field day with Milli Vanilli and the gang on Entertainment Tonight. Although parodies of pop music continue to proliferate (Weird Al Yankovic is probably the closest modern-day equivalent, although he's closer in style to an Allan Sherman; he sings funny lyrics to normal songs, he doesn't play them funny), the simple fact remains that Spike Jones & His City Slickers did it better than anyone before or since.

~ Cub Koda, Rovi Spike Jones & His City Slickers on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music. Biography Spike Jones kept up a frenetic pace in the late 1930s as a freelance studio musician for motion pictures, records, and radio shows. The busy young drummer commuted to Hollywood studios in a station wagon that was a veritable junkyard on wheels. But he had little opportunity to employ cowbells, sirens, and automobile horns in his work at the time. He felt so frustrated he decided to form his own band "where I could make as much noise as I wanted," he once claimed. Delmar Porter, who sang with the Foursome -- a vocal and ocarina quartet Jones had backed on Decca Records -- was Jones' partner in musical mayhem from the outset. Porter led a six-piece group called the Feather Merchants, which was managed by Jones before it gradually evolved into the City Slickers. Few musicians took Jones and Porter seriously when they started the band.

It was no more than a spare time proposition, and many of them -- who had steady work in radio -- departed after a rehearsal or two. The precise evolution of the band, which consisted of various studio musicians of Spike's and Del's acquaintance, is unclear. Adding to the puzzle is the existence of a concurrent Jones band which made experimental "penny records" for the short-lived Cinematone Corporation. The second group included not only Porter but future Slickers Perry Botkin (banjo), Kingsley Jackson (trombone), and Stanley Wrightsman (piano). Jones was not officially the leader of the City Slickers -- nor had the group yet adopted the name -- when they entered Victor studios for the first time in 1941. "It was a lot of fun but it never occurred to me it was going to be anything big," said trumpeter Bruce Hudson, who was hired for the afternoon. "We were freelance musicians who were having a ball doing crazy music." Del Porter sang the numbers and did the basic arrangements with trombonist King Jackson, who pumped a lot of imagination into the group.

When "Behind Those Swinging Doors"/"Red Wing" was issued that October, the label identified the group -- for the first time publicly -- as Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Within a year of their first Victor session, most of the sidemen involved -- including Botkin, Jackson, Wrightsman, and bassist Hank Stern -- departed for greener pastures. Porter and violinist Carl "Donald" Grayson were the exceptions. Don Anderson, a colleague of Spike's from Fibber McGee & Molly, joined the day after the initial session, becoming the band's first steady trumpet player. Botkin, who was too busy with radio work, brought Luther Roundtree in to replace him on banjo. Wrightsman, an ace jazz pianist who didn't care for the Slickers' slam-bang style, gave his seat behind the keyboard to Frank Leithner, who played The Eddie Cantor Show with Spike. Jackson left to enlist in the army and was replaced by trombonist John Stanley. Hank Stern's successor on tuba and string bass was a man of almost limitless talent.

Joe "Country" Washburne, a first-rate jazz musician who had performed with Ted Weems, eventually took over most of the arranging duties from Porter. In doing so, he became a major influence on the Slickers in their evolution from a pleasantly silly cornball style to the riotous, all-stops-out zaniness that put them over the top. Ernest "Red" Ingle, a colleague of Washburne's from the Weems band, was more than capable on the saxophone; he was hired less for his musical skills than his comic genius. Along with Carl Grayson, Jones came to rely heavily on Ingle for the gags and vocal effects used to annihilate the songs. Many of the early Slickers left the band because they could not accommodate Jones' demand for "first call" on their availability. Most of them had other jobs and considered the band a secondary job. Frank Leithner, who worked seemingly every radio show in town, was one of the few Slickers who named his own terms, and got them. Other associates like Del Porter departed because they felt their contributions were taken for granted.

Country Washburne, whose arranging talents forever "Spiked" "Cocktails for Two," received no acknowledgment for this contribution to the band's success, yet continued to arrange for Jones, despite the anonymity of the task. But musicians everywhere wanted to work with Spike. Shortly before Porter left, Jones added two key players. Dick "Red" Morgan, who had recorded with Alvino Rey, joined on banjo and guitar; trumpeter George Rock was snatched from the employ of rival music butcher Freddie Fisher, and soon became the dominant sound in Jones' ensemble. The face of the band changed substantially in 1946, a year of dramatic personal and professional change for Jones. More in demand than ever, he stopped drinking and reorganized the group for a new two-hour variety show. he also began touring the country on a punishing schedule. Hard-drinking Carl Grayson, who had contributed much to the success of the band -- including the vocals on "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Cocktails for Two" -- was among the first to be dismissed. Red Ingle quit the group to pursue other ventures, including his own band, and several others were fired.

Among their replacements were up-and-coming nightclub comedians Doodles Weaver and Earl Bennett (whom he rechristened Sir Frederick Gas), clarinetist Mickey Katz, drummer Joe Siracusa, and veteran comic-banjo player Freddy Morgan. Bird and animal imitator Purv Pullen (renamed Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath) brought an aural menagerie along with him; dwarf Frankie Little and giant Junior Martin provided additional comic relief. The band reached its zenith in the late '40s -- the very top of its game -- with The Musical Depreciation Revue, a Coca Cola-sponsored CBS radio series, and some of their most musically sophisticated records, including "Rhapsody from Hunger" and "Morpheus." But within a few short years the rigors of the road -- and an invention called television -- began to take their toll on the zany band and its once hugely popular enterprise. Jones made a valiant effort to tackle the new medium with appearances on The Colgate Comedy Hour and a number of short-lived series, but his declining health and a change in musical tastes were the end of the line for the City Slickers.

Jones' so-called New Band, which combined folk music with traditional Dixieland jazz in the early '60s -- and disappointed his old fans -- was "just a temporary musical disarmament until rock & roll blows over." But he was forced to admit: "It's been eight years blowing over, and it's blowing better now than ever." ~ Jordan R. Young Top Albums Spike Jones - Biography - IMDb Spike Jones Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trivia (12) Overview (3) Lindley Armstrong Jones Mini Bio (1) Spike Jones was born on December 14, 1911 in Long Beach, California, USA as Lindley Armstrong Jones. He was an actor, known for The Spike Jones Show (1957), The Spike Jones Show (1954) and Mr. Nobody (2009). He was married to Helen Grayco and Patricia Middleton. He died on May 1, 1965 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Spouse (2) ( 18 July 1948 - 1 May 1965) (his death) (3 children) Patricia Middleton ( 7 September 1935 - 1946) (divorced) (1 child) Trivia (12) Known for his madcap comical musical arrangements and lyrics. Got his nickname from his father's co-workers on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Had an unusual hobby as a young adult of collecting junk that made odd, funny noises, which started the orchestra leader off on his wild and wooly career that would feature everything from cowbells to toilet plungers. World War II audiences embraced Spike and his City Slickers ("the Band who played for fun") for their delicious parodies of popular songs; some of their best being "Der Fuehrer's Face", "Cocktails for Two", which included a chorus of hiccupping, and "You Always Hurt the One You Love", which was dominated by a series of shootings, hangings and poisonings.

The Spike Jones Show (1954) on television in the 1950s featured Spike's wife, Helen Grayco , who had been singing with the band since the 1940s. Spike reportedly got his idea for demented re-workings of popular songs after hearing the squeaking shoes of an orchestra conductor during a live broadcast of a symphony performance. Began his career as a top studio drummer, working on several Bing Crosby sessions and as a percussionist on the The Wizard of Oz (1939) soundtrack, among many other assignments. Prolific recording artist, primarily for RCA Victor, Verve and Liberty records, his hits included "Der Fuhrer's Face," "Cocktails for Two", "Chlo-e", "Dance of the Hours", "Pal-Yat-Chee" (with Homer and Jethro), "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and "Washington Square". He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1500 Vine Street; and for Radio at 6290 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L.

Smith, pg. 229-230. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Following his untimely death, he was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Question: What was the name of Spike Jones' comedy band
Answer: The City Slickers